My Trip To
Greece

W. Scutt 3D/C

Greece, that sunny country on the Mediterranean, was the place I was fortunate enough to spend five weeks last summer. While there I had many humorous experiences and also saw many of the magnificent ruins and relics of ancient Greece. It would take too long to mention all the events which I recorded in my diary, so I will just describe a few of them.

The Feast of the Assumption is a national holiday in Greece and is celebrated with processions and pilgrimages all over the Country. I was in Athens then and, along with the rest of my family, was taken by a Greek friend, Mr. Molphetas, to the Metropolis Greek Orthodox Cathedral. It was very over-crowded and stuffy, so we went outside where, to our amazement, we found it was raining heavily. We sheltered in an adjoining little Byzantine chapel, the Little Metropolis. I noticed that it was made from large blocks of stone with ancient Greek carvings; Mr. Molphetas explained that they had been taken from some demolished temples. When it stopped raining, we visited two other beautiful chapels and then the Royal Palace, where the Evzones, the famous mini-skirted guards, were on duty.

I went with my friend, Ewan, to visit the Acropolis; he had not been there before and I acted as his guide. We got there mainly by asking Greeks the way; we simply pointed in the direction our pathway was going and asked, "Acropolis?", if the reply was Ne we were right and carried on. At last we reached a gravel path down which a great many tourists were coming to get to their hotels and avoid the very hot afternoon sun. When we reached the top, I pointed out all the interesting features and told Ewan most of the facts that I had learned a few days before. I even remembered the story of Poseidon and Athena both of whom wanted to be patron of Athens. Athena offered the citizens the olive tree, this they accepted in preference to Poseidon's horse. In the Erectheum, a small temple next to the Parthenon, I was able to point out the marks of Poseidon's trident in the temple floor; he is supposed to have thrown it through the roof in anger at his rejection by the Athenians. After this we went over to the Parthenon and I recalled for him the fact that the pillars, if extended, would meet at a point two and a half miles high; the Greek builders had deliberately created an optical illusion to make the building look firm and strong.

When we had finished our tour, we began to walk down the gravel path towards home. On the way we stopped to look down on the Agora (equivalent of a Roman Forum) and then descended to have a hurried look at it. I thought I spotted a short cut and persuaded Ewan to let my sense of direction guide us home. We passed through narrow, dusty roads lined by colourful and curious shops. Here we saw many "worry beads" for sale -- strings of beads fingered thoughtfully by old men; a highly polished string of beads is taken as a sign of the owner's wisdom. These shops had a great selection of very decorative pottery and souvenirs.

The short cut seemed to add to our journey and it was some time before we came upon a chapel we had visited earlier; this was still a long way from home. A taxi driver, who spoke a little English, gave us some complicated directions and eventually, by relying on our sense of direction, we saw the familiar pillars of the Temple of Olympian Zeus ahead of us. There was a very wonderful view of this Temple, as well as the Acropolis, from our flat, so we knew we were only a short distance from home.

Probably the most colourful sight I saw was Greek folk-dancing; it was also very interesting. The songs and dances were representative of different Greek Islands and all the dancers wore their national dress.

Each night we arrived back at the flat exhausted after a tiring but very enjoyable day. Sleep came quickly, especially after a lovely nightcap of retsina a wine made from the resin of pine trees.

W. Scutt 3D/C


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